The land's song is different for us all. It still whispers to me, bids me come, see in the day, bear witness to the newness of it.

The land remembers you.

This is what it is to be animist. We see and feel the spirit within the natural world and know we are not separate from it at all, but connected to it in every way.

With it’s backdrop of mist shrouded hills, lakes that reflect the sky, stretching further than the eye can see, stone circles and hidden waterfalls, it feels like you’ve stepped into the pages of some epic tale of magic and knights, monsters, dragons and witches.

Ever present in all of these memories, the glorious backdrop to childhood adventures, is nature. Every memory recalled is linked to the land it occurred in and on, land that has now, in many places, changed beyond all recognition, but still as I pass by, there is still that feeling, that aura, that sense of spirit that persists.

The bonds that bind us to one another may change and vary but they are there. In times of need, it is these bonds that serve us best, that can form the basis of community in the truest sense of the word.

There is still beauty to behold in this world. Not the fake beauty of photo-shopped pictures, whether of people or places, nor the beauty of expensive possessions and luxurious homes, but instead a beauty that inspires a quiet joyousness within the heart, within the very soul, perhaps.

There’s a magic that comes with connecting to the land. It can be quite a controversial subject, the land. It’s one of those areas that has been subjugated by the far right, all that blood and soil stuff and of course if you live on colonised or stolen land, well, you know how that narrative goes. But I wanted to talk about connection to land today anyway, despite those things already mentioned.

Mugwort grows here in the summer months, ragwort and wild rose too, the bare skeletons of the latter reach up from the winter grass, the hips bright red like oxgenated blood. The scent of fox urine fills my nose as I enter into the dog foxes territory. It feels like I’ve come home.

There is definitely something about being on a hilltop in autumn, surrounded by mist and the lonely call of the crows. If magic is a feeling, it is this feeling. But then I say the same about the woods, the ocean, the riverside and more. Magic is nature and nature is magic, I guess it really is as simple as that.

Northern rains come slow and stay for ages. A particular type of torture. It doesn’t wash over you, it shoots arrows at you from all directions. You don’t feel its wetness on your skin, you feel its bite on your bones.

When we see ourselves as part of the landscape, only then, I believe we’ll put in the real work to stop the destruction of it.

But how likely is that do you reckon?

Trees are such beautiful creatures, are they not? And wise too. If you listen with a wild ear, if you watch them with wild eyes, they will share their lessons with you.

Sounds awfully romantic, doesn’t it? But as lovely as it sounds, it is also true.

We invite you to engage with your community about how the ideas presented here can transform your community and your practice. A land acknowledgment is just the first step of imagining and co-creating a better world where the lands, waters, animals, and human beings can thrive.

Yellows, purples and deep blues flit by, easily missed by most, or seen and unseen, scenery and nothing more. The beauty of the wildflowers, their existence forgotten if noticed at all and all before they’ve disappeared from view. All of this glimpsed as I stare out the window, seeking something other than the endless roads stretching ahead lined with traffic spewing fumes, the endless grey of industry and business.

I adore folk lore, superstitions and old wives tales, from all over the world. There are stories and sayings about almost everything you can think of from trees, to birds to the weird and wonderful. I believe such stories give a great deal of insight into humanity’s relationship with the natural world, and highlight the common thread that runs through whilst at the same time celebrating our differences. These stories can help to deepen our understanding of and thus our connection to the land. Here I’ll share with you some of my favourite tree lore.

“they are going to create sports pitches and even a wildlife area. A fecking wildlife area!  As if the wildlife isn't already there.”